Texas HB 3970: Relating to the acceptance and counting of early voting ballots voted by mail.

Bill Text

By:AAVasut H.B.ANo.A3970
Substitute the following forAH.B.ANo.A3970:
By:AAJetton C.S.H.B.ANo.A3970
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the acceptance and counting of early voting ballots
voted by mail.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTIONA1.AASections 87.041(a), (b), (c), (d), (e), and (g),
Election Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a)AAExcept as provided by Subsection (d), the [The] early
voting ballot board shall inspect and open each jacket envelope and
carrier envelope for an early voting ballot voted by mail and
determine whether to accept the voter’s ballot for counting.
(b)AAA ballot may be accepted for counting only if:
(1)AAthe carrier envelope certificate is properly
executed;
(2)AA[neither] the voter’s signature on the ballot
application and [nor] the signature on the carrier envelope
certificate are [is] determined to have been executed by the voter
and not by a person other than the voter, unless signed by a
witness;
(3)AAthe voter’s ballot application states a legal
ground for early voting by mail;
(4)AAthe voter is registered to vote, if registration
is required by law;
(5)AAthe ground for early voting is absence from the
county of residence and the address to which the ballot was mailed
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87R22052 SLB-F 1

to the voter, as indicated by the application, was outside the
voter’s county of residence[, if the ground for early voting is
absence from the county of residence];
(6)AAfor a voter to whom a statement of residence form
was required to be sent under Section 86.002(a), the statement of
residence is returned in the carrier envelope and indicates that
the voter satisfies the residence requirements prescribed by
Section 63.0011; and
(7)AAthe address to which the ballot was mailed to the
voter is an address that is otherwise required by Sections 84.002
and 86.003.
(c)AAIf a ballot is accepted for counting, the board shall
enter the voter’s name on the poll list unless the form of the list
makes it impracticable to do so. The names of the voters casting
ballots by mail shall be listed separately on the poll list from
those casting ballots by personal appearance.
(d)AAA ballot shall be rejected if any requirement prescribed
by Subsection (b) is not satisfied. In that case, the board:
(1)AAmay not open the carrier envelope; and
(2)AAshall indicate the rejection by entering
"rejected" on the carrier envelope and on the corresponding jacket
envelope.
(e)AAIn making the determination under Subsection (b)(2),
the board may also compare the signatures with any [two or more]
signatures of the voter made within the preceding six years and on
file with the county clerk or voter registrar to determine whether
the signatures are those of the voter.
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C.S.H.B.ANo.A3970
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(g)AAA person commits an offense if the person intentionally
accepts a ballot for counting [voting] or causes a ballot to be
accepted for counting [voting] that the person knows does not meet
the requirements of Subsection (b). An offense under this
subsection is a Class A misdemeanor.
SECTIONA2.AASection 87.042, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (c), and (d) and adding Subsection (e) to
read as follows:
(a)AAOnce a ballot has been accepted for counting, the [The]
early voting ballot board shall open each carrier envelope
containing the [an] accepted ballot without defacing the
certificate on the carrier envelope and remove the ballot envelope
from the carrier envelope. If the ballot is to be counted at a
central counting station, the early voting ballot board and the
signature verification committee may not open the official ballot
envelope of an accepted ballot.
(c)AAThe official ballot envelope must be placed in a
separate container if:
(1)AAthe ballots are to be counted at a central counting
station; or
(2)AAthe procedure for counting the early voting votes
cast by personal appearance is different from that for counting the
votes cast by mail.
(d)AAAn accepted ballot that was not returned in the official
ballot envelope shall be treated as an accepted ballot that was
returned in the official ballot envelope.
(e)AAA poll watcher is entitled to observe the acceptance of
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C.S.H.B.ANo.A3970
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early voting ballots voted by mail, including the work of the early
voting ballot board and any signature verification committee. The
poll watcher must be able to determine how the ballots are opened
and distributed and how the early voting ballot board and any
signature verification committee are making decisions about the
acceptance of ballots, if applicable. The poll watchers must
comply with all provisions of this code when carrying out their
duties.
SECTIONA3.AASection 87.044, Election Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c)AAThe provisions of Subsections (a) and (